Horizon: Soldier in Equestria 2
by joshthegreat
Summary: It's been 2 weeks since the betrayal. Since I was branded a traitor to Equestria. Since my own Dashie attacked and told me she hated me. When I first arrived, this place seemed like Eden. Now, it's like Earth, like hell. And every hell needs an inferno. This world... will burn. Every stallion, mare, and foal. Even my own family.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

A cloaked figure trotted through the crumbling halls of the Pony Sister's castle, deep in the Everfree forest. The moonlight shinned through the hole in the ceiling, illuminating what remained of the once regal tapestries and windows.

Charcoal gray hooves stepped in the main chamber, gazing at the mobile that once held artifacts of great power, now destined to crumble, as everything does.

Family, Love.

Nations.

A squared off snout and a horn that shared it's storm cloud color poked out from the shadows of the pony's hood. His horn began to glow, then released a burst of magic that soared into the sky, silently lighting up the room.

When the light died out, he waited. Seconds turned to minutes.

With a scowl on his face, he began to turn away. Suddenly, A harsh breeze rushed into the chamber. Purple smoke began to swirl around him.

"Why have you come here?" A wispy voice demanded.

The wind blew the hood off of the stallion's head, his once short and neat black mane now hanging over his right eye. The left eye shone with determination, hurt, and revenge, the once hazel iris now pale, matching the pupil. The eye was marred by a scare that reminded him daily of what he fought for.

For a soldier must have a purpose to fight wholeheartedly.

"Simple, Nightmare Moon." Josh replied, his eyes momentarily flashing blue. "We want revenge."

Causes and beliefs can turn on a dime. But war...

War never changes.

2 weeks earlier.

Josh strode through Canterlot Castle, forgoing his normal human form. He admired the beautiful stained glass windows that depicted the rise and prosperity of Equestria.

The Princesses had called him for an important meeting, though he wasn't sure what for. He turned the corner to the throne room, then, suddenly, several Day guards in golden armor tackled him.

" You are under arrest for acts of treason. Do not resist!" The leader bellowed in his ear. They hoof cuffed him and hauled him back to a standing position.

Josh saw Princess Celestia approach him.

"Princess, tell them you called for me." Josh commanded, though he was in no place of authority.

"... Take him to the dungeon." She said turning her nose up.

" What?!" He yelled. He shifted to his human form, slipping out of the now loose cuffs. He drew his MP 26 side arm and fired two bursts in the pony standing on his right. Ducking below a blast of magic, he did the same to the other guard.

"Celestia, what is the meaning of this?" Josh demanded. Time seemed to slow down as the Alicorn princess prepared to blast him. A cool sense of calm filled his mind.

'I suggest immediate retreat.' Leonidas, Josh's personal A.I. spoke. ' Live to fight another day.'

"Agreed." Josh muttered as he fired a burst of hollow point rounds at Celestia. The Princess was able to deflect most of the bullets, but several hit her right wing.

Josh turned and ran for the nearest window, jumping straight through it.

And off of the side of the Mountain.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

" Why would you come to me for help?" Nightmare Moon asked.

"Simple. Celestia wronged you a thousand years ago. Now that I have seen her true colors, we must crush this empire while it is still in it's infancy." Josh answered, pulling a newspaper out of his bag. The headline stated that Princess Luna had stepped down and now Celestia was being proclaimed Queen of Equestria.

"This is not good..." Nightmare Moon trailed off. She abandoned her gaseous form in favor of her normal one.

"I'll say." Josh muttered.

"You don't understand. When the Elements of harmony separated Luna and I, I secretly maintained a psychic connection to her." Moon explained. "Two weeks ago, I simply ceased to feel her presence."

"Does that mean...?" Josh began.

"No, I would have felt her life force give out. She is most likely in the crystal mines under Canterlot. The crystals cancel out magic, preventing them from being located."

"Alright, if Luna has been imprisoned, I could try to free her. Roughly half of the Equestrian Army are loyal to her. We'll need all the help we can get."

"Wait..." Nightmare Moon spoke. "Why do you seem to trust me? For all you know, I could kill you the second you turned around."

"We share a common enemy, and this is your chance at redemption. If we show ponies who Celestia really is, they might be willing to give you a chance for you to be accepted."

"That... That is all I really wanted. Thank you. I will be waiting for your return." She spoke as Josh began to tuck his sage cloak into his saddle bag and unfurl his wings. A silver saber sheath glimmered in the moonlight under his right wing, his eagle shield under the other.

"I'll be back. Could you try to make this place a little more useful as a base?" He asked. Nightmare Moon nodded and began magically clean the chamber, then moving to the rest of the castle. Josh took off into the night sky.

12 hours later

Midnight Blaze, one of Luna's Night Guards, sat in his cell. The sun shone through the small window, illuminating the straw bedding, the green crystals lining the wall, and the Day Guard asleep outside the cell door. If Midnight could do so without blinding himself, he'd be glaring at the sun.

He jumped when the Day Guard hit the floor with a thud, a thin line of blood seeping from his neck. The hinges on the door, along with all in the cell block, burned to ash, letting the imprisoned Night Guards out into the hall. A cloaked stallion strode towards him.

"Captain Blaze." Josh spoke, dropping his hood, a small crossbow contraption mounted to his right foreleg, filled with razor like blades.

"Sir!" Midnight snapped to attention.

"Where's Luna?" Josh asked.

"Next Cell block. Sir, if I may ask, where did you get that scar?"

Josh didn't answer, but fell into memories as he walked away.

-Two weeks ago-

Josh landed in front his home in Ponyville, having long since evaded the Day Guards. He quietly stepped in, and a sky blue filly barreled into him.

"Daddy!" Skyler cried. "You have to leave. I didn't believe them, but mommy did!" The young foal hugged him tightly.

"What do you m-"

"Get. Away. From her." Josh's wife, Rainbow Dash, threatened, a sword, which was an anniversary gift, clutched in her mouth. "Twilight told us the truth. You're a traitor, a.. a... I can't believe I ever loved you!" Her words cut deep.

"Dashie, I-" Josh began, taking a step towards her.

"No!" Dash shouted, swing the blade, cutting across Josh's eye.

"Daddy!" Skyler screamed as Josh began to clumsily gallop to the door. Dash held her from chasing after him.

"Daddy!"

-Present-

Even a quick healing spell could not repair the damage, both to his eye and his heart. He rounded the corner into the next cell block, which, unlike the previous cell block, was deeper into the mountain and did block magic.

Two guards stood in front of the solid metal door at the end of the corridor. They saw Josh, and drew their spears while charging at him. Josh drew his saber with his magic, then held it in his mouth.

He brought the sword down through the left guard's spear, then up across his chest, the tungsten blade easily cutting through the gold chest plate. In the same, graceful motion, Josh brought his hind legs about to the muzzle of the second guard. The second guard fell with a dull thud, out like a light.

Josh sheathed his sword and walked to the door. Luckily, a key hung on a hook close by.

Seconds later, the door swung open.

A dark blue alicorn was curled up in the center of the room, apparently suffering from a heaping serving of betrayal with a side of fear and a tall glass of hopelessness.

"Luna?" Josh said softly. Princess Luna, her head lacking of any crown, looked up, and her eyes brightened at the sight of a friend.

"Josh!" She sprung up and bear-hugged him.

"It's okay, Luna, We're getting you outta here."

"We?" Luna asked. Josh looked behind him to see nearly two dozen Night Guards, with more out of sight in the next corridor.

"I want Unicorns and Earth ponies to follow me. Pegasi, escort Princess Luna to the castle in the Everfree. She knows the way," Josh ordered. The Guards filed out of the room to get organized.

"Where are you going?" Luna asked.

"We're gonna need weapons and armor. And lots of supplies. Show those Sunnies what we're made of. Heh, Sunnies... It's got a ring to it."

"What do we need this stuff for?"

"War." Josh sighed.

"War?"

"Luna, if we don't stop Celestia, who will? The fate of Equestria is in our hands... Erm... Hooves. If we can raid the armory and supply depot, not only will we be able to defend ourselves, Celestia will be at a disadvantage."

"But there are several armories. You can't raid them all."

"That's why we're hitting the most important: The Royal Armory." Josh answered.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Weapons and Runaways

"Wait for my signal." Josh whispered. Several Day guards milled around the Royal Armory below, but they slouched, relaxed in their duty. One even napped under a tree.

"All teams in place." Midnight whispered. Josh nodded grimly and armed his crossbow. The weapon had been a gift from Shining Armor, Twilight Sparkle's brother and the captain of the Royal Guard. It fired razor thin blades meant to pierce several targets at once. Josh had made a few... improvements. It was capable of semi automatic fire and could fire tranquilizer darts and firebombs. Unfortunately, it was uncomfortable to aim and still had a tendency to jam. Josh's A.I., Leonidas, had shut down for a recharge. Josh could not afford any distractions.

"Execute." Josh said in a normal voice. The finely tuned ears of the Night Guard, however, heard the command clears as day and launched their attack. Springing from alley ways and rooftops, the black clad soldiers subdued the lazy Day Guards in seconds. Not wanting to be seen as murderous insurgents, Josh had ordered nonlethal takedowns for the time being. Within moments, Josh, Midnight, and a half-dozen Night Guards had stacked up against the door to the armory while the others went back into hiding, taking the day guards with them.

"Breach and Clear." Midnight said. Most ponies would not recognize the phrase, but Luna had asked Josh to personally train her guards several months before.

"Yes sir." A unicorn mare replied. She charged a spell, then loosened it. The directed energy blew the door down, startling the ponies inside the armory. Josh was first in, loading tranquilizer darts into his cross bow. Two guards stumbled for their weapons, but Josh downed them in secnonds. Midnight began to move in, but was stopped when a purple bolt of magic streaked into his chest from the back of the armory. A white pony with a blue tail and silver armor stepped out from behind a crate as Midnight sailed into the guards behind him.

"Celestia knew you'd come here, traitor. I'm here to squash this rebellion, this evil act of defiance." Shining Armor spoke.

"This isn't a rebellion, its a liberation." Josh calmly replied. He turned to the night guards. "Grab what ever you can carry. Weapons and armor first."

"You'll take nothing!" Shining hissed. He ducked as a dart flew torwards him.

"You'll have to get through me before you can stop them." Josh stated, before drawing his sabre and charging Shining Armor. The captain rolled to the side, avoiding Josh completely. However, he did not expect five fingers to grab his tail and sling him to the wall.

Josh did not particularly like using his human form inside the building, as his head brushed the roof. He picked Shining Armor up by the throat, knocking off the silver helmet in the process. Josh brought the captain to eye level as the night Guards, including a sluggish Midnight, finished loading several crates with the target supplies.

"You are being used, old friend. If Celestia sees a hint of disloyalty in you, she will not hesitate to eliminate you. It happened to Luna, the Night Guards, and me. Tread carefully, little pony. I will not extend mercy once more." With that, Josh head butted Shining Armor, knocking the stallion out cold.

"Alrighy, troops. Get these supplies to the castle." Josh ordered. And with a flash, the Insurgents and their loot disappeared.

/-/

"For the last time, your father is a lying, cheating, backstabbing traitor. I don't want to here anymore of this mind control crap!" Rainbow Dash yelled.

"Dad. Is. Not. The bad guy! Celestia is!" Skyler replied, her bright yellow eyes not recognizing the mare she called mom.

"What? Are you a traitor now? Go to your room and don't come out until I say!" Dash stomped her hoof and snorted, clearly angered by her daughter's statement.

Skyler stomped up the stairs to her room. The small space has heavily decorated with a mix of Wonderbolt and Equestrian Military knick knacks. A set of blades, meant to be attached to the leading edge of a pegasi's wing, hung on the wall above Skyler's bed. The young mare flopped down on her bed in frustration.

No matter how much she tried, she couldn't really be mad at her mom. She had been eavesdropping on the library when Twilight Sparkle, ever loyal to her former mentor, had cast a spell on the other Elements of Harmony that made them believe Celestia's lies about her father.

Dad.

He was out there somewhere, most likely trying to do something to stop Celestia before things could get any worse. Most ponies were ignorant of Celestia's plot.

That left only whomever Skyler's dad could find to fight her.

A plan began to form in Skyler's fifteen year old mind. She could imagine what her father would say, " Do you have any idea how dangerous and ludicrous that is?!... I've never been so proud!"

Skyler began packing a saddlebag, including the wing blades and emergency kit her father gave her last Hearth's Warming day. She opened the window that led out into the quite morning. Nopony hung around this part of Ponyville, as most had to go to school or work.

Skyler stretched her wings and relished the fact that she was now, officially, a rebel.

She took to the skys in search of the rebellion.


End file.
